The Impossible War
by Meshakhad
Summary: The Doctor, Rose, and Jack Harkness stumble into an alternate reality where the Daleks are waging a war against a magically-empowered Earth. Pairings: Buffy/Angel, Willow/Kennedy, Spike/Faith.
1. Chapter 1: Andammarin V

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_ or any of its characters. They belong to the BBC. Nor do I own _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, _Angel_, or any of their characters. They belong to the First Evil (aka Joss Whedon).  
The concept of magical weapons as seen in this story is borrowed from M. McGregor's excellent Buffy fic, "I Am What I Am", which can be found at ?sid=3370.  
Note: This story effectively replaces the _Doctor Who_ episodes "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways", and can be considered an alternate finale for Season One of the new series. It is also a post-Chosen fic.

* * *

"So, where are we going?" Captain Jack Harkness asked.

"Andammarin V, 2021," the Doctor explained. "The Goreshal." Off Rose' expression: "A legendary interstellar cultural fair, about as famous as Woodstock on Earth."

"Is it any good?" Rose inquired.

"I dunno. Never been before." He adjusted the TARDIS controls, before finally announcing, "And here we are."

"Won't we stand out?" Rose said as she approached the door. "I mean, we'll be the only humans there."

"Don't worry," Jack assured her. "Supposedly, every intelligent species in the galaxy attended the Goreshal. We're just representing the humans."

"And the Time Lords," the Doctor added. "Don't forget the Time Lords."

Rose opened the door.

The scene outside the TARDIS was one of chaos. Aliens of all shapes, sizes, and colors ran around in what was clearly a state of panic. Amidst the screams, she heard explosions in the distance.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS, followed by Jack.

"Well, this is not good."

* * *

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of the way!" An alien about the size and shape of a rugby player pushed past Rose, ignoring her question. The Doctor and Jack weren't having much better luck finding out what was going on.

Rose found an alien that resembled a fifty-centimeter tall squid with three legs, and picked it up.

"What's going on?" she yelled into its face.

"Lady, put me down!"

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" The Doctor and Jack joined her.

"We're evacuating, obviously! This spaceport is one of the last parts of the planet they haven't overrun! Now put me down! I need to get to a transport!"

"Who?"

The alien squirmed out of Rose's grasp. It fell to the ground and scurried away, following the crowd.

"OK, something's wrong," she commented.

"Very wrong. Clearly, the planet is under attack. But by whom?" the Doctor wondered aloud.

"Um, you might want to see this!" Jack was standing by a window. Rose and the Doctor joined him.

Outside, Rose could clearly see an army of Daleks approaching the spaceport. Saucer-shaped ships hovered in the air, firing missiles at the surface.

"That's impossible!" Jack declared. "Those ships were destroyed!"

"There's only one explanation for this," the Doctor said evenly. "An alternate reality."

"Those Daleks will be here any minute," Rose pointed out, her voice trembling with fear.

"We need to get out of here!" Jack shouted. "Back to our reality!"

"We can't," the Doctor shook his head. "The TARDIS can't draw that kind of power from an alternate reality. We'll need to get onto a transport."

"Good luck with that," a passing alien said. "There's barely enough transports for everyone here. Besides, the Daleks have us pinned down, so the ships can't get out anyway. Unless the Gaians get here in time, we're all gonna die."

"Gaians?" Jack turned to them.

On cue, there was a sound of thunder from above. They all looked up to see a flash of black lightning and smoke. When it faded, Rose saw the last thing she expected to see here.

She seemed human, no older than Rose herself. She had long red hair, and wore a simple green jacket and red pants. As she descended to the ground, Rose noticed that her eyes were completely black.

The aliens gaped in awe. Rose heard them whisper her name – "Willow". More than a few knelt to the ground. Rose had seen the Queen given less respect.

Willow – it seemed like it would be the best thing to call her for now – waved her hands and uttered a few words, which the TARDIS translated as "Open the path." Eleven other humans appeared around her. Five of them were young women in leather jackets, and carried archaic weapons. The other six were of mixed genders, and wore green jackets similar to Willow's. One – a black male in his thirties – looked familiar somehow. But Rose was too confused to place him.

"Attention!" Willow called out. Her accent was American. "I am General Willow Rosenberg of the Champions of Gaia. Proceed with the evacuation. I will hold off the Daleks, and the _Tara_ will provide cover for your ships." Everyone kept staring at her. "Now, people!"

That got them moving.

* * *

"I have an idea!" the Doctor said. "We can't just jump to our reality, but if the TARDIS can still translate for us, it should have enough power to fly out of here at sublight!"

They raced for the TARDIS. But apparently, Willow had overheard them. She appeared right between them and the TARDIS door.

"Can you explain to me what you are doing here?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"We're getting out of here," the Doctor explained. "This is our spaceship."

"It looks like a police box to me."

"It's bigger on the inside," Rose said. "Look." She opened the door. Willow peered inside.

"Interesting," she said. "Well, if this is a spaceship, then you can help with the evacuation effort." She called out loud: "Lieutenant Smith!"

The man whom Rose had found familiar came over.

"This is apparently a spaceship of some sort. As you can see," she gestured towards the open door, "it's bigger on the inside. Take command, collect as many people as you can fit on board, and bring it to the _Tara_."

"Yes, ma'am!" He turned to Rose, Jack, and the Doctor. "You're the crew?"

"Yes. I'm the Doctor. This is my ship. These are my companions," the Doctor explained.

"Get on board and start her up. I'll gather some evacuees."

Lieutenant Smith ventured into the crowd and started collecting aliens. Soon, the ship was packed tight with more aliens than Rose had ever seen before – including the little squid that she had interrogated earlier.

"How long before you can go?" Smith asked the Doctor.

"I need about three minutes! The power source has been drained!"

"EXTERMINATE!"

Rose looked outside the TARDIS. She saw Daleks – at least twenty of them – entering the facility.

"Lieutenant!" she called.

Smith came over.

"Don't worry. We'll handle them. Can you show outside video in here?"

"Sure." It was one of the few features Rose knew how to operate. "Why?"

"Because I want everyone in here to have a chance to see some of the best Champions in action."

As Smith closed the door, Rose activated the video screens. She stared as Willow and the leather-clad girls prepared to take on the Daleks.

The Daleks fired their death-rays in unison at Willow. She waved her hand, and a yellowish barrier appeared, protecting her from harm. She then fired a bolt of black lightning from her hand, blasting five Daleks into twisted metal.

The other girls weren't quite as destructive, but they were equally amazing. They bounded forward with incredible speed, _dodging_ the Dalek death-rays. An Asian girl wielding a Japanese sword sliced one Dalek in two. A dark-haired girl with a red axe hacked off another Dalek's eyestalk, before driving the other end – which was apparently pointy – straight through its body.

"How is that possible?" she asked Smith. "I've seen a Dalek before. Bullets can't harm them, how can swords and axes?"

"Magic, of course," he replied. "Those are magical weapons, and that's magic Willow is using."

The Daleks were dead now. But more started pouring in.

"Doctor, where's the power source?" Smith asked.

"Right here," the Doctor pointed to the heart of the TARDIS, where he was working.

A bolt of electricity lept from Smith's hand into the machinery. Finally, the TARDIS started up.

"We were out of time," Smith explained.

* * *

The Doctor flew the TARDIS out of there, keeping up with the last of the transport ships.

Rose continued to observe the video screens. She saw that the spaceport was burning. Soon, it was consumed in flames. But rather than burning out, the flames spread outwards, destroying everything in their path (mostly Daleks). The flames in the spaceport died, leaving a ring of fire that expanded at an increasing rate.

"What's happening?"

"She's burning the planet," the squid explained. "Whenever a planet falls to the Daleks, they bring in Willow. She brings forth some sort of Gaian relic –"

"The Effigy of Proserpexa," another alien clarified.

"Right. Anyway, she then channels the planet's life force through the effigy, and burns the planet to a cinder – killing every Dalek on the planet at the time."

Rose was shocked beyond words.

"Legend says that she tried to do it to Earth once. Her lover was killed, so in her grief, she tried to destroy the planet, to put an end to all the pain."

"What… what is she?" Jack Harkness asked.

"What do you mean, what is she?" Smith answered. "She's a witch."


	2. Chapter 2: The Tara Maclay

A witch.

In her time with the Doctor, she had seen a lot. But this was new. She had never encountered magic, or witches. The Doctor had never mentioned them before. Everything had a scientific explanation.

She needed to get one.

"Doctor?" Rose asked, pushing her way to the control panel.

"What is it?" He looked up from what he was doing.

"Can you explain what's going on? I mean, swords shouldn't be able to affect Daleks, and humans can't shoot lightning from their fingertips. When I ask what's going on, they tell me it's magic."

"I got no idea, Rose," the Doctor replied evenly. "It might be something native to this reality, but I have no idea how it works. All I know is that there are a ton of Daleks, and these humans are able to fight them, so I'm going to do what they say."

"We're out of the atmosphere," Captain Jack announced.

Smith came over. "OK. You want to go… here." He pointed to an icon on the screen.

The Doctor frowned. "Scans show that's an asteroid… wait a minute… I'm getting power readings and lifesigns." He looked up at Smith. "An asteroid ship?"

"Of course. The _Tara Maclay_."

The evacuees murmured.

"What's an asteroid ship?" Rose whispered.

"It's an asteroid that's been converted into a spaceship. Mostly used by species that don't have much in the way of orbital shipyards. You just stick on an engine, life support modules, and presto! Instant spaceship."

As they approached, Smith tensed up for a moment. He then lifted his voice. As he spoke, Rose noticed for the first time that he had a London accent.

"Attention! We are about to arrive onboard the _Tara_. Once on board, all evacuees will disembark, and follow me to the Sunkissed Glade, where you will rest and receive food. Make sure to keep any belongings you have with you."

"What about us?" Jack asked.

Smith lowered his voice. "General Rosenberg wants you for questioning."

"Why, did we do something wrong?"

"No, she just wants to know what three human civilians were doing on Andammarin V in the middle of a Dalek invasion. Speaking of which, I'll need to get your names." He turned to the Doctor first. "You are?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said in his characteristic manner. "Just the Doctor."

Smith shrugged before turning to Jack. "And you?"

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Captain of what?"

"Nothing at the moment, I just like the title."

Finally, he turned to Rose. "And what's your name?"

"Rose Tyler."

Smith stepped back in shock. "No… that's impossible."

"What do you mean? I'm Rose Tyler. I'm from London."

"It can't be, it can't be…" Smith repeated.

"Why not?"

"Because I knew a Rose Tyler on Earth. She was killed when the Daleks first invaded." A tear streamed down his face.

"What do you mean, you knew her?" Realization crept into her mind. "Who are you?"

He wiped away a tear. "My name is Lieutenant Mickey Smith, Champion of Gaia."

_Mickey_.

In that moment, Rose recognized him. He was apparently in his thirties. The Mickey she knew was no weakling, but this one had an aura of war-weariness about him.

No doubt about it. They were in an alternate reality.

It was incredible.

Jack had seen asteroidal ships before, but the _Tara Maclay_ was unlike any other. For a start, it had an atmosphere on its surface – 70% nitrogen, 28% oxygen, according to the sensors. Earth-normal. It was obviously contained by a forcefield. He had never before seen a ship – asteroidal or not – with an artificial atmosphere on the _outside_.

But even more amazing than that were the plants. The asteroid was literally _covered_ in greenery. There were forests, grasslands, even what seemed to be a swamp. It was simply unbelievable.

Smith – who was apparently the local counterpart to Rose's boyfriend in their reality – guided the TARDIS to a grassy field near a deciduous forest. After landing, the other passengers disembarked. Smith led them into the forest, leaving Jack, the Doctor, and Rose behind.

No sooner had he left, Willow teleported in front of the TARDIS. She was accompanied by the dark-haired girl with the red axe.

"Doctor. Captain Harkness. Miss Tyler," she addressed them. "I am General Willow Rosenberg. This is my chief of staff, General Kennedy Samson. Please, sit down." She waved her hand, and five folding chairs appeared on the grass outside of the TARDIS.

After a moment's hesitation, the three took their seats. Rosenberg and Samson sat opposite them. Rosenberg addressed Rose first.

"You gave your name to Lt. Smith as Rose Tyler. That name, and your description, matches the Rose Tyler who was killed on Invasion Day."

"Um, how did you know that? I didn't see him speak to you," Rose asked.

"I'm telepathic. It isn't easy, and I prefer speech, but I can communicate without words."

"I see."

"Now, it is entirely possible that you _are_ that Rose Tyler. People do come back from the dead on occasion – I've brought someone back myself."

"Really?" Jack asked.

"Yep." She turned to the Doctor. "You, on the other hand, are a true paradox. You are a Time Lord, a species that no longer exists. The Time Lords were wiped out by the Daleks a thousand years ago."

The Doctor took the news pretty well – understandable, considering that in their reality, he was the _last_ of the Time Lords.

"Now, can you explain this?"

Rose, the Doctor, and Jack replied simultaneously:

"Alternate reality."

Their deadpan reply surprised even Jack. Equally surprising was Rosenberg's reaction:

"Oh. I see."

There was a time when Willow would have struggled to comprehend all of this. Now, there was very little in the universe that could faze her. Alternate realities were a part of her world.

"So, in _your_ reality, the Time Lords and the Daleks wiped each other out?" she clarified.

"Except for me," the Doctor said glumly.

"How'd you survive?" Kennedy asked.

"I ran." He clearly felt guilty about it.

"Hey," Kennedy reached out to him. "It's no shame to run from a fight you can't win."

"So," Rose changed the subject, "How did the humans end up fighting the Daleks – and where did you get magic?"

"Well," Willow leaned back, "in our reality at least, magic has always existed. I was an incredibly powerful witch even before the Daleks showed up. Kennedy," she took her girlfriend's hand, "is a Slayer – a girl chosen to fight the forces of evil, and gifted with superhuman strength and speed. There used to be only one, but I did a spell that activated all the Potentials – the girls who could become a Slayer."

"When did that happen?" the Doctor asked.

"2003," answered Kennedy. "Now, in early 2005, the Slayers started getting visions. Now, we normally do get prescient dreams, but we were having a lot of them, and all about the same thing. We saw Daleks – we didn't know what they were at the time, only that they posed a threat – descending on London. We sensed that they were from beyond this planet, which meant that they couldn't have very strong magic."

"Why's that?" Jack asked.

Time for Willow to explain. "In this dimension, magic is tied to the Earth. No seer has ever detected a magical presence beyond the Solar System. So we stocked up on magical weapons – which we had only just learned to forge – and gathered our forces in London."

"Then, on October 5, 2005, it happened. They came."


	3. Chapter 3: London, 2005

"They're coming!" Illyria shouted.

"How many?" Buffy asked.

The Old One looked into the telescope.

"I count five warships entering the atmosphere. They are coming directly at us. I estimate five minutes before they arrive."

"Will?"

"No way I can take them out in time," Willow shook her head.

"Still, there's no way of knowing what kind of weapons they have. The dreams showed a lot of damage, but I'd like to minimize that damage. The moment we engage, I want you and Amy to go after them."

"Right behind you, Willow," Amy said.

"Good." Buffy hit the talk button on her radio. "Spike? You in position?"

"_We're assembled at King's Cross. Sunset's at 5:29."_

Buffy checked her watch. It was 3:58 PM.

"You've got 91 minutes then. I don't want you deploying any sooner."

"_Buffy, we can still move in the shadows of buildings."_

"And if the Daleks destroy those buildings? Spike, the only reason I wanted vampires to help me was because there are only three ways apart from sunlight to kill vampires, and the visions didn't show the aliens wielding stakes or bladed weapons. If their weapons aren't fire-based, that makes you guys invincible against them."

"_OK, then."_ His tone shifted from slightly annoyed back to caring. _"Take care, luv."_

"You too."

Spike, along with Angel, Harmony, and Dracula, had assembled about thirty vampires in the Underground. Angel and Spike were Champions, Dracula was in it for the glory, and Harmony and the other vampires had decided that it would be nice to not have to worry about Slayers for a change.

"_Buffy, come in,"_ Xander's voice crackled through on the radio.

"What's up?"

"_Buffy, the RAF has scrambled jets, and the media is reporting UFOs over London."_

Buffy looked up. Sure enough, the alien spaceships were visible as meteors.

"I see them too. Keep me updated."

It was time. Aside from the vampires in the sewers, Willow, Amy, Illyria, and Connor, Buffy's forces consisted of six hundred and thirty-four Slayers arrayed around London. All possessed magical weapons. It was time to lead them into battle.

"They are opening fire with missiles!"

It was time to do battle with an enemy that until now had only been a nightmare.

"They have destroyed Canary Wharf!"

It was time to save the world. Again.

"I have enemy troops deploying from the ships!"

It was time to kick some serious ass.

* * *

The aliens looked like giant salt shakers. They had no legs, but simply levitated above the ground. Some flew in the skies above the city, but most had descended to street level. Each could fire a white energy beam that instantly killed its victim.

And, just as the Slayers' dreams had predicted, they were killing everyone in sight.

Connor kept a tight grip on his magical battleaxe. The rediscovery of the process of forging magical weapons had provided the Champions with an amazing advantage. With enough strength behind it, which a Slayer – or, for that matter, Connor himself – could easily provide, a magical weapon could cut through just about any ordinary material. The only real defense against a magical weapon was magic.

And as far as their research could determine, nothing from beyond the Solar System could possess magic. Which meant that the aliens would have no _defense_ against magic. And so magical weapons became the core of their defense plan.

A column of aliens marched by the alley where Connor and ten other slayers lay in waiting.

"Now!" he ordered.

With superhuman speed and power, they leapt from the alley. The aliens turned their middle sections, where their weapons were mounted – but they were too slow. By the time they were in position to fire, the slayers were already on top of them. Blades flashed, and the aliens were dead, their metal bodies bisected by magical weapons.

Actually, it seemed like their "bodies" were some sort of battle armor. Connor could see that there was a grotesque creature inside the armor, controlling it. Which meant that the aliens were living creatures…

"Madison, this is Connor," he called over his radio.

* * *

"Amy here. What is it, Connor?" Amy replied.

"_The aliens are biological. I repeat, they are biological. The outside is just battle armor."_

"Thank you, Connor. Madison out."

Amy then sent a telepathic signal out to the Coven. Several seconds later, a hemisphere of magical energy materialized over London.

The Slayers believed – well, hoped – that they would have the advantage thanks to magical weapons. But they also knew from the visions that the aliens could fly, and they knew from experience that Slayers could not. The fear was that if the Slayers _were_ victorious in London, the aliens would simply break off and go after another city.

So the Coven had prepared a spell to prevent the aliens from escaping. The magical barrier would stop any nonhuman from passing through it. That would not stop the people of London from fleeing, but it would trap the aliens inside.

That left only the five alien warships hovering over the city. Actually, there were only four now – Willow had already destroyed one, and was now working on a second. Amy could see the warships' hulls buckling and tearing under the force of her magic.

That was Willow. She was the most powerful witch the world had ever known, but her control was limited. She wielded her power like a sledgehammer, blasting things apart –hardly efficient. It was only because she had so much raw power that it was at all effective.

Amy, on the other hand, barely had a fraction of Willow's power, but she had much greater control. She couldn't blast the warships to pieces, but there were other things she could do.

She teleported on board the ship, ending up in what seemed like a storage locker. Searching the room, she found a small light fixture. A little telekinesis, and it was free. She then teleported away, to one of the sacred trailers the Coven had set up for her. The cauldron was already prepared and bubbling.

Amy retrieved a model ship from the shelf, along with a rubber band. The ship had been produced by an Australian Slayer named Kaya, who was a skilled whittler, and had used her visions as a basis. Amy used the rubber band to attach the model and the light from the ship, and dropped the whole thing into the cauldron.

"I call on you, laughing gods," she intoned. "Accept my sacrifice of my enemy. Take their life-force, feed on it."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the ship she had taken the light fixture from spontaneously imploded.

* * *

"Time?" Spike asked.

"It is 5:24. Ve have five minutes until sunset," Dracula answered.

"Alright, everyone. Weapons check!" Spike ordered.

Spike had been surprised that Buffy had put him in command of the vampires – after all, Angel was the one she was kissing. But Buffy had explained it to them a few days before the invasion – it wasn't about love, or trust (she trusted them both), or even brains (Dracula had all three of them beat there). It was about who could command the vampires. She needed someone to motivate them, to get their bloodlust going. And the brash Spike was much more suited for that task than the broody Angel.

It was nice to have the ponce taking orders from him for once. But as much as he enjoyed tormenting Angel, Spike also needed him. The vampires were in this for fun and glory. Spike needed Angel's help controlling them. And Buffy wouldn't have brought them on board if she didn't think she might need them.

It wasn't just Buffy that was worried. It was all the Slayers. They knew what was coming. More than once, Spike had found himself comforting a Slayer suffering from nightmarish visions of destruction. Twice, it had been Faith, and it had turned into something more. Spike quite liked that girl.

Giles had confided in Spike private fears about the Slayers' reliability in the battle. It didn't matter that they were the best warriors on the face of the Earth, that the Slayers were, as Satsu had put it, "what the dark is afraid of." They were up against a literally alien foe, and they were afraid. When they finally faced up against the creatures of their nightmares, some of them might break. The vampires almost certainly wouldn't, assuming the alien weapons couldn't set them on fire.

"William, it is time," Dracula said.

"OK, everyone," Spike vamped out and smiled, "let's go!"

Thirty-five vampires swarmed out of the station and into the shadowed streets of London. Thirty-five pairs of yellow eyes darted around, looking for targets. His eyes eventually settled on three aliens standing right outside the station.

"EXTERMINATE!" the aliens screeched, the lights on their heads flashing in sync with each syllable. Three white beams shot out, hitting three vampires, including Harmony.

They didn't even flinch.

"Well, this is interesting," Spike sneered. "Let's get them!"


	4. Chapter 4: Adipose System, 2019

Adipose System, 2019

"What's the ship count?" Captain Groosalugg called.

"Forty-seven," Lieutenant Hammer replied.

Forty-seven Dalek warships against one Gaian lifeship. A fairly easy fight.

The Groosalugg had been a warrior all his life. He always sought the greatest battles. But when he saw the battle over London, he knew that this war would be different. The greatest warriors wielded not swords and axes, but men. They were leaders, commanders, strategists. It was a completely different way of fighting.

So he decided to learn it.

He had enrolled at the United States Naval Academy in the fall of 2006. He had thrown himself into studying strategy, tactics, and the art of command. He had actually memorized Sun Tzu's _The Art Of War_. He had graduated in 2010. After six years as a lieutenant and then a commander under Captain Angel's command on the _Cordelia Chase_, he had landed his current post – XO of the _Los Angeles_, the flagship of Admiral Illyria. Illyria had been the obvious choice to command the Navy – she had literally millions of years of experience as a leader of armies. And she had proven to be a very capable ship driver.

"Raise storm shields," Illyria commanded.

"Aye, sir." They would be going toe-to-toe with the Daleks. It was similar to the kind of fighting the Groosalugg had always enjoyed. Victory would depend on quick thinking and skill at arms.

And, as usual, the fact that Gaian lifeships were not exactly bound by the laws of physics.

Above, the sky filled with black storm clouds. The raising of the storm shields was a multisensory experience. First the sky would darken, then brighten again from lightning flashes. This would be followed by the sound of thunder, and then the feeling of rain. The rain would strengthen the plant life growing on the _Los Angeles_, thereby reinforcing the magical field that powered the whole ship. To any form of sensors, the storm shields seemed as immaterial as water vapor, but they were capable of absorbing unbelievable amounts of damage. The stom shields that protected Earth were nigh-invincible.

Civilians often wondered why they would deliberately block their view, but the truth was that space combat was rarely fought at distances where eyeballs would be useful. Gaian lifeships were equipped with all sorts of visual aids, with different commanders favoring different ones. Andrew Wells' _Enterprise_ was equipped with viewscreens connected to tiny satellite-cameras that sat just outside the storm shields. Willow Rosenberg preferred an entirely magical approach, _sensing_ the enemy ships. And _Los Angeles_ made use of alien holoprojectors, allowing for a three-dimensional view of the battlefield.

"Prepare for missile salvo, on my mark" Illyria ordered.

"Aye, Admiral," the Groosalugg nodded. He relayed the order to his crew.

"Mark!"

The holoscreen lit up as dozens of missile icons appeared, streaming toward the Dalek ships. Each missile was vaporized by the Dalek shields, but the payload was another matter. At least nine of the ships had been hit by living plasma.

Living plasma was one of the nastier weapons in the Gaian arsenal. It had been a simple matter of adapting the living fire spell to plasma. The plasma wasn't immediately deadly, but it would spread outward from the impact point, gaining strength as it vaporized more of the ship. Those ships were pretty much doomed, although they might survive long enough to defeat the _Los Angeles_.

"The Daleks have launched their own missiles!" Hammer reported. "Impact in sixty seconds!"

The Groosalugg – like Illyria – was fearless, but he was not so brash as to disregard the implications of a Dalek missile barrage. One of those missiles could devastate a continent. Three could bring down a storm shield – and the fourth would destroy the ship.

"Prepare for teleportation!" Illyria's voice was steady. The coordinates flashed on the screen. Around the ship, warlocks prepared to move the ship instantaneously from one point to another. Teleportation wasn't easy, but it was effective. The magical teleportation used by the Gaians was also scientifically impossible, which made it impossible to block. There was no alternate dimension involved, no wormhole, no transmatter beam. Just magic.

"Thirty seconds to impact!"

"Initiate teleport!"

The _Los Angeles_ winked out of existence, and reappeared in the heart of the Dalek fleet.

"FIRE ALL WEAPONS!" Illyria roared.

"Fire!" the Groosalugg repeated.

An almighty storm came into being, one that the laws of physics said could not exist. Close range was where the Gaians reigned supreme. Gobs of living plasma spat forth, setting the Dalek ships alight. Curses weakened their systems and clouded their minds. And black lightning ripped their hulls apart.

The Daleks fought back. Death rays and missiles stabbed through space. Individual Daleks flew from their dying ships in an attempt to board the Gaian vessel. But the storm shields held. One by one, the Dalek ships were annihilated.

They were fortunate, the Groosalugg knew. And while the loss of forty-seven ships would hurt the Daleks in this region (not to mention sparing the Adiposians from annihilation), it was a mere drop in the water compared to the thousands of ships the Daleks wielded, especially when the Gaian fleet had less than thirty lifeships of its own.

Like any nation at war, the Gaians had their propaganda. Lorne was constantly trumpeting their victories. The Gaians seemed invincible. Nearly every time the Gaians and Daleks met in battle, the Gaians emerged victorious. Only two Gaian ships had ever been lost in battle. Hundreds of worlds had been spared.

But this concealed certain facts. Such as the fact that the Gaians' record only stood up if you ignored the battles they didn't fight. That was the work of prophecy – the Gaians could see what battles they could win. But they could not see how to win the war.


End file.
